Spring Weekend

I got a new lens for Christmas but between work and weather I really haven't had a chance to put it to use. Saturday was the first full day of spring, but you'd never guess it was March based on the photos. Everything is covered in snow and the sky was grey never the less it felt good to spend the day outside.

I found it interesting that this sea gull was so inclined to sit on top of the pile of snow and ice rather than the rocks. I took it to mean seagulls don't get cold feet? 

I don't like snow. There is something kind of magical about foot (or paw) prints in fresh snow.

I'm not sure what kind of birds these are, ones that don't mind cold ocean water. I really appreciated that they organized themselves in a pattern. And then I thought maybe they were out on a double date. And then I decided I should stop thinking about the courting rituals of birds.

Last year around this time I went through a phase where I was really big on the colour purple. This year I have similar feelings towards orange. The orange bouys against the white snow made me pretty happy. 

I took a lot more photos of my grandfather's boat and more identifying scenery that I'm not willing to post online, when all was said and done I snapped close to 200 photos. It served as a great reminder how much I enjoy taking photos. And it's a hobby I need to make more time for on a regular basis. 

My goal for the week is to take more photos, follow some prompts on instagram, experiment with some tutorials on Pinterest and exercise some old fashion trail and error. 

Linking up here & here!

Stuff & Things

I could go on for a long time about the snow situation here in my neck of the woods. Over three days mother nature dumped 125 cm of snow. (That's about 50 inches for you Americans). Except that I am totally and completely exhausted by the snow and would prefer if I could burry under blankets and not move from the house until next month when it's time to board a plane for a more welcoming climate.

There are 20 working days left between now and the end of my contract. I've really enjoyed working there for the last 6 months but I'm ready to be done. The biggest contributing factors to my doneness are the crazy hours, winter driving and a few co-workers that really grate at my nerves.

I discovered recently that it really bothers me when people don't show appreciation. Whether it be a simple thank you or acknowledgment of hard work or not complaining about the things they have when people aren't appreciative it bugs me. The flip side to that is it's made me more intentional about showing appreciation towards others.

I'm eagerly awaiting the official link up to share the full package Elizabeth sent me but I need to share  that one of the things she sent was "Peanut Butter Monster Trail Mix" and it is the most amazing and delicious trail mix I have ever eaten. J. & I are both obsessed with it and can't wait to get more next month when we're on vacation. (It's not available in Canada)

I have an almost overwhelming sense of nervousness towards camp this summer. There are some big changes happening that both directly and indirectly affect my job, the entire staff dynamic and a lot of other things. I'm doing my very best to prepare myself and focus on doing my job without letting my own insecurities and staff drama come into play but it's hard. 

March is half way over and I'm making slow progress on my March Goals. Progress is happening though and I think part of goal setting is identifying areas of improvement, not feeling bad/guilty/ashamed that I didn't do exactly as I said I would. 

I have really enjoyed being on top of blogging this week. Not everything has been perfectly preplanned and organized but having an idea of what I'm going to write about, where I'm going to link up and what I need to do each day has been wonderful. Plus, it has given me more time to visit other blogs and ensure blogging is a hobby I enjoy and not a chore. 

Snacks & Snow Storms

Lately it seems like my weekends revolve around snacking and storms. This one was no different.

J. invested in new pots and pans so I throughly enjoyed showing on my domestic skills Saturday evening and Sunday morning while christening a few of his new pots. Saturday night I made us chicken parmesan. Which was pretty tasty, but would have been tastier with regular pasta noodles opposed to the whole wheat/whole grain ones that J. had bought. There's no photographic evidence of this meal because neither of had eaten all day so by the time supper was ready there was no time for pictures just eating. Sunday morning we woke up to what appeared to be a meteorological miracle, only 5-10 cm of snow had fallen opposed to the 30-45 cm that was predicted.

We were mistaken. By the time I made pancakes (side note: does anyone else struggle to make perfect pancakes that are cooked all the way through and not burned??) & bacon for a late breakfast it was clear what we had witnessed earlier was just the beginning of the storm. It didn't look so bad outside so J. determined it was safe enough to drive me home. I live "out in the country" about half an hour away...let's just say that there was a lot more blowing snow and drifting near my house than there was near his and I was really glad when he texted to tell me he made it back to his house. It was also a good thing he took me home when he did because the storm really did keep getting worse and the high winds lasted all night so there's no way I would have gotten home if we hadn't of left when we did.

I spent the afternoon watching the storm outside and making one of my favourite meals. I am definitely not a big sandwich person, but I discovered a delicious combination of things a while back and it's so tasty that it doesn't even matter that it's very sandwich-y. Chicken breast with cajun seasoning, red onion, cheddar cheese, some mixed greens and spicy chipotle dipping sauce all on a ciabatta roll. My mouth might be watering just thinking/typing about it. I made a small portion of homemade fries to go along side it and it was a very satisfying snow day supper.

The snow was still coming down steadily and the wind picked up again making for a very messy Sunday evening. I've reached the point where not only am I tired of all the snow and cold, I'm also tired of complaining about the weather. I just want to see some dirt/pavement in my life rather than snow and ice. 

The bight side of it all is I made a blogger leap and installed Disqus! I'm hoping that I did it correctly and it's fully functional. I was getting really frustrated with no-reply bloggers and glitches resulting in people's comments being erased once they press publish. I was also able to plan out some posts for this week so check back tomorrow to see what's on my reading list!

I'm linking up here to share my weekend!

Friday Thoughts

{one}

I came across these prints on Etsy a few weeks ago and just had to ordered them.  They're from Water in My Paint and I am totally in love with them. I can't even pick a favourite. What I love about them is for now they fit in just fine on the gallery wall I have happening in my bedroom. And in the future I think they be totally acceptable to hang in a kitchen or pantry area. Because what's cuter than squirrels eating donuts & sipping coffee while wearing their hair bows and think rimmed glasses? I might be borderline obsessed with them. The artist has tons of quirky water colours for sale, the squirrels were my first choice but there are so many others that I love. Plus, the price was super reasonable ($10 for each 5x7) and she is a Canadian artist so shipping was also fairly cheap. 

*This woman has no idea I exist and I was in no way, shape or form compensated for my fangirl-ing. I love the product I received and love supporting Canadian and small buisness.

{two}
Maybe it's the fact I'm done with winter and longing for summer with every cell of my being. Or maybe it's just me being weird. Either way I am compelled to eat anything BBQ flavoured. Mostly chips but I won't discriminate. I would also love to eat some BBQ steak and baked potato. Or simple burgers & hot dogs with a side of potato chips. BBQ chicken and some potatoes in tin foil...that being said I'm not willing to bundle in 50 billion layers to stand outside long enough to cook meat or ruin my mittens by getting BBQ sauce all over them.

{three}
Some of you may have already read this Buzzfeed article; 25 Truly Terrifying Pictures Of The Snow in Eastern Canada Right Now. That's my neck of the woods friends, our massive quantities of snow have made Buzzfeed. And we're forecasted to get about 20-30 cm on Sunday. C'mon spring...hurry up!

{four}
I working 8 hours of overtime tomorrow. I have mixed feelings on the one hand I'm thankful that I have a good job and I'm thankful for the opportunity to earn a little extra money. Especially when I know that working at this job will allow me financially to work at camp again this summer. On the other hand I'm definitely someone who needs down time so working 6 days a week isn't exactly conductive to down time. I will figure it out though. And if we get those 30 cm of snow on Sunday I will certainly be spending the day at home in my comfy clothes watching Netflix.

{five}
I'm still so sad about Target closing. And honestly even sadder that the clearance isn't all that phenomenal. Everything did get marked down another 10% on Thursday so maybe I'll try to check it out again early next week. There are a few things I have my eye on but aren't discounted enough yet for me to justify buying. I did score a sweater for $8 when I was there this week along with packages of tea for 98 cents and a couple of treats that were discounted. I'm hoping to get some new bedding for camp and there's a bedside table that I happen to think is super cute and will totally be snatching up if/when it ever goes 50% off.

Linking up with Oh Hey, Friday & Bright on a Budget

Snow Day Roulette

During university whenever there was a snowstorm in the forecast my friends and I liked to play what we called "Snow Day Roulette". The game was pretty straight forward - you could have a few drinks/stay up late/not do the assignment all in hopes that the next day classes would be cancelled and you'd be free to recover from your few drinks/sleep in/enjoy another full day of procrastination.

So when the weather forecast looked like this Tuesday night I was faced with a new grown up job version of Snow Day Roulette.

Except that in Grown Up Land my choices were more along the lines of not choosing my outfit or packing a lunch the night before. I know. Livin' on the edge.

Wednesday morning I woke up at 7 and checked my phone to be greeted by the glorious message that work was in fact closed for the day.

My Snow Day was exactly what a needed I wore my favourite extra grubby $10 Wal-Mart jogging pants all day long, drank two cups of coffee and at least 3 cups of tea. Enjoyed homemade waffles and played board games with the roomies. 

And I won't lie this morning when work wasn't closed I was pretty annoyed. The roads were really sketchy and I absolutely despise winter driving. Plus it was kind of a long day at work.

The good news is tomorrow is Friday which means I can wear jeans to work and I have no plans to work this weekend! Depending on the weather I may go on an adventure to visit with H. on Saturday but we may be getting more snow. (Seriously, I am SO ready for spring!)

My snow day also seemed to have re-kindle my blogging inspiration! I've got some post ideas planned for the next few days and have been taking steps to contact folks about a new design. 

Life is looking up! 

Monday Musings

I was originally planning on posting my "Word of the Year" post today but then I realized that today is one of those days where I just need to share my random thoughts about life and its happenings opposed to anything even remotely thought out with lots of pictures and (mostly) grammatically correct sentences. So bare with me and tune in tomorrow for my word of the year reveal. 

I have my word all ready to go but then I started thinking I should have a verse too? Does anybody else choose a verse for the year? I'm obviously familiar with choosing a word. And I know of people who choose life verses for their children or a verse for their marriage but I've never been exposed to a verse for the year. I like the idea, but it's also overwhelming to try and choose a verse for the entire year in a day or two. 

Last night I was totally on top of things and portioned out a bunch of fruit and spinach to make a smoothie this morning to sip on while I read through blogs. This morning I got up and was magnetically drawn to the Keurig where I brewed myself a cup of French Vanilla coffee and have yet to make myself truly regret said decision. Points for trying right?

I was supposed to hang out with one of my best and oldest friends last night while he's home from university. Then his parents decided to head to the city a day early because of the impending snow storm so he wouldn't miss his flight back to school.

Speaking of snow. There are 160 cm of snow down. That's over 5 feet for those of you on the imperial measurement system. There's another snow storm in the forecast for tomorrow. We are 30 cm away from beating the previous snowfall record in December that was set back in the 60s. I know Canadians are supposed to be snow-loving people of the north riding around on our polar bears, but I'm done. Summer please come soon. (And for those who are curious summer means June, because it still snows in May.)

On the flip side all this snow makes everything absolutely beautiful. Which is great because I've been taking lots of pictures. Come May I will be an expert at taking photos in the snow. Saturday I was at my grandparents and took some great ones of my Papa's boat and the warf all covered with snow. (My Papa is a lobster fisherman and my grandparents live in a tiny little fishing village.) 

The internet at my house has really sucked the past few days. It makes it difficult to do all my important Tweeting, Snapchatting and Instagramming. #firstworldproblems

I just read through this post and feel a little embarrassed to push publish because it's just ridiculous. But I'm doing it anyway. I promise my posts for the rest of the week will be much more interesting. Or at least less all over the place. 

I'm sharing all this randomness with the lovely ladies participating in Mingle Monday at the Life of Meg.

'Twas The Weekend Before Christmas

I spent most of Friday & Saturday finishing up Christmas shopping, wrapping and checking things off my to do list.  When I came home Friday night I realized I ran out of the brown paper I had been using to wrap gifts so I had to switch to more generic wrapping paper. I was disappointed for all of three minutes then gave myself a reality check and accepted it was not the end of the world.

I made gift tags with my Cricut for the ones I used generic paper for so there was still a little touch of homemade. 

Saturday morning I got outside and played with my camera. I had a lot of fun experimenting with the settings and trying to capture the perfect snowy image. I didn't realize until after I got home that I'd taken over 500 photos in just a few hours. I also didn't realize I no longer have iPhoto on my computer...based on what Google tells me I'm just going to have to suck it up and pay $15 to download it from the App Store. Which is really freaking annoying and if anyone has any alternative suggestions I would love to hear them! I also need to invest in an external hard drive to store these giant photo files. So much to learn!

I've still got a long way to come before any of my photos are "Pinterest Worthy" or I get specifically get asked to take pictures for friends but I'm happy with quite a few of them and I was able to pick out a few favourites.

I really like trees in general and I recently discovered I love trying to capture details. I just like the way you can see all of the needles on the tree and you can kind of tell how weighed down it is by snow.

Squirrels are my absolute favourite animal! I could hear this little guy long before I finally spotted him hanging out in the tree. I wish I could have gotten closer to him but every time I moved my feet would crunch in the snow and he'd run away. 

Yesterday my cousin was supposed to get baptized but we had an ice storm (our fourth storm in seven days) so church and the baptism was cancelled. Instead I spent the day at home doing a whole lot of nothing, which after a busy few days before and what is sure to be a busy Christmas week wasn't such a bad thing!

I've got a few posts planned between Christmas and New Years including a my Year in Review, Blogging goals for 2014 and I will be guest posting over at A Beautiful Exchange  to share some advice on how to set goals for the new year! 

I'm linking up my weekend recap with Showered With Design and Dateless in Dallas.

Snow & Sneezes

This is the THIRD Monday in a row that the combination of snow/rain/freezing rain/wind has cancelled school - which means it is also the third week Brownies has been cancelled. Someday I will get to celebrate Valentine's Day with my favourite 8 year olds. This week we had planned to celebrate Guide/Scout Week with the other Girl Guide units in our area with the traditional torchlight parade followed by cupcakes & hot chocolate. As disappointed as I am that I haven't gotten to distribute Valentine's Day treat bags, or make Valentine's Day themed picture frames and feed the little ladies cupcakes and watch their eyes light up with excitement as they learn to play a new game; I'm thankful for today's weather cancellation.

Saturday morning I woke up with a cold and have felt totally miserable ever since. I'm feeling a little better today but I have no desire to move from the couch for any length of time. My plans for the rest of the day & evening include nothing more than drinking cups of peppermint tea in between drinking lots of water while watching silly day time talk shows.

The whole not feeling great has really put a damper on the "I'm going to do yoga every day for Lent" plan. I have been doing a good job remembering to read the Verse of the Day, so that's something. Fingers crossed that by tomorrow or the next day I'll be feeling better and can really get serious about my plan.